Running From A Cop
by BobWhite
Summary: Don, Charlie & the team inadvertently lead an abusive cop straight to his girlfriend who went into hiding because of him. Now she is being taken care of by the Epps' father and staying at the Epps' house. R&R 2 find out more!
1. The Raid

**Full Summary:  
**Sunset Grace Endelman has been on the run from her abusive boyfriend, who just so happens to be a cop. Finally finding a safe place in a run-down motel in L.A. she believes that he won't be able to track her down. Big mistake; he finds her and she's running again. But he finds her with the help of the FBI, and both Charlie & Don feel responsible for helping him find her. What happens when Mr. Epps takes Sunset in and keeps her safe while Don, Charlie and the team look for the man that's trying to kill her? Will she put a new twist onto their lives? And how do they come across what she used to do in their investigation? Was she trying to do the right thing by her daughter, who b the way, is still in Carson City, Nevada where the cop works? How do they reunite Sunset and her daughter with the cop still on the loose? And does the Carson City police station help in apprehending one of their own cops? Will Sunset and her daughter stay in L.A. with the help of Don, Charlie, the rest of the team and Mr. Epps?

**  
The Raid:**

**Journal Entry:  
(AN-This part will be in **_**italics**_** due to the fact that she is typing on her computer, in a document labeled: **_**Journal**_**.)**

_Hi, my name is Sunset Grace Endelman and I am 28-years-old. I have been on the run from him for about three months. My daughter, Tegan Sara Endelman is staying with a friend of mine who knows enough not to let __him__ get to her. Tegan knows nothing of my whereabouts but I do send a letter to my friend and she hands it over to Tegan. Tegan is 14-years-old and she knows enough that she knew I had to leave before __he__ was able to kill me._

_I promised Tegan that I would be back but that I had to leave for a short while. I told her that she would be safe with my best friend and that she would have to do whatever was asked of her to keep me safe. She promised me that she would do anything to keep my secret safe, including going into the foothills of Nevada to stay away from him. She is a smart girl and had to give up cheerleading in her community squad to help keep me safe. My little girl knows what it feels like to run and I was so hoping to keep her out of this whole mess, but I failed._

_Josephine Montgomery has a cabin in the foothills of Nevada and has taken Tegan up there to keep her safe. At the bottom of the mountain they are staying on, Josephine works in a bar. __He__ knows nothing of Josephine because she was a friend that I met while attending college, a college he didn't approve of. Josephine has been in constant contact with me via the bar phone, with permission of her boss of course. Her boss, James Jackson, knew of my relationship with a cop, but didn't know the extent until Josephine came to him with Tegan and said that she would need a little help home-schooling Tegan. James' wife is a teacher and has also kept my secret safe, knowing that if __he__ found me, Tegan would most likely be an orphan as her father has never been around._

_Tegan's father, well there really isnt much to say about him. He was in the Army Reserves and was called away to duty shortly before she was born. He never made it back home to us. Thus I buried him and take Tegan to her father's grave every year on his birthday and the anniversary, she doesn't mind, it's her time with the father she knew she would have loved. Unfortunately, the yearly trips to his grave were pushed aside when I started dating __him__. _

_Who am I talking about? Well that remains to be the question. I thought I knew him when we first met, but I guess I was wrong. He got violent after only a month. As much as I wanted to leave him, he had threatened to take Tegan from me, that he would file a neglect report and say that he was capable of taking care of her. I couldn't let him take Tegan from me, she was everything to me and I would die for her if I could, but that was not an option. He, well, he is a cop with the Carson City Police Department and his name is Christian 'Chris' Evanson. He is and always will be looking for me._

_I hope that if this laptop is found, then you read this, because everything is in here. All the abuse is here. I have kept a daily log and at what times. He has never known since I kept the laptop at Josephine's house and she would let me come and use it. When he asked where I was on my lunch hour, I'd tell him that I was out with friends who lived in a different county. Because he was a cop, I knew better then to tell him which county I was visiting friends in, so he never could verify with any of my friends. The list started out on paper, but he would find a way to get into my papers from work and I had to revert it to a computer._

_My faith and hope that I will be found and helped, has entered the dim part of my running. I know that he is coming after me, I just don't know when, where, how or with whom. I wish that……_

**Coming In:  
**I had just finished typing the last entry to my journal when I heard a bunch of cars pull up at the same time. I closed the word document and put the laptop on the desk next to the bed. I grabbed the rifle from next to the bed where I kept it and prepared myself, just in case Chris came through the door. I wasn't expecting the FBI to come through the door, nor was I expecting them to come in so heavily armed. How had I known that they were here to "rescue" me on a word from Chris that I had disappeared? Was I really going back to him without a fight? Hell fucking no!

They stormed the room within seconds of getting out of their cars and I got one shot off before getting shot in the shoulder myself. I was tackled to the ground and handcuffed, then led out to the waiting car. Chris was waiting for me and I knew what was coming next. He wouldn't hit me in from of everyone else. No, he would wait until we were alone, until he had complete control of the situation.

I was taken to the hospital and then released into the custody of Chris, my 'guardian angel' who was the one who'd alerted the FBI to my disappearance. Yeah, he was some hero alright; not. Once back at the hostel he'd been staying in, things got physical. My life was once again in the hands of Chris.

**We Were Wrong:  
**The FBI team that had raided my motel room had also collected evidence, including the laptop, and the minimized document on it. They would soon learn that 'Chris' was not the loving boyfriend he made them believe, but more like the monster I was hiding from in the first place. Not knowing this, they took the laptop back to the office and let Chris take me back to his hotel, saying that they would be in touch if they found anything useful. Oh would they find something useful. But would it be too late?

Chris and I were talking and he wanted to know why I had run after he had threatened to take Tegan away from me. And I told him, flat out.

"Chris, you scare me when you get angry. I can't be around you if I want to stay alive, I mean it. It's just too much. And Tegan's grades are slipping because of you. You need to go back to Carson City and leave us alone. I'm done with you. And you will never find Tegan. I have her in a safe place that you will never find."  
"That's wrong girl. You think you can continue to run from me. My bosses think you're the worst mother in the world, they believe me not you. I will get custody of Tegan and you will go to jail bitch. You DO NOT RUN FROM ME. I AM YOUR BOYFRIEND AND YOU WILL OBEY WHAT I SAY." _He said, grabbing my arm tightly. On reflex, a scream escaped my mouth and I knew that at least someone had heard it. I heard shuffling in the next room._  
"Please, Chris, don't do this, not now."  
"TOO BAD BITCH!"

_I felt the first strike hit my cheek. As weak as I was from the bullet, I was about to get even weaker. My screams turned into whimpers as he continued to beat me. When it was over, I felt my life draining from me as he left the hotel with all of his stuff and told the receptionist that he would be back later after I had time to rest. He never came back._

_Meanwhile, _Megan and Colby had going through my computer, trying to find something useful as to why I had been in that motel room, by myself and not with the man that supposedly loved me. When Megan clicked on the minimized document at the bottom of the screen, both she and Colby yelled for Don at the same time. Larry, Charlie and Amita had just walked in at the same time of the discovery.

"DON!" _Megan & Colby yelled together. _  
"What's going on?" _Charlie asked. _  
"We may have just found some evidence as to why Ms. Endelman was in that room by herself."  
"You mean the woman you were trying to find for that cop? You found her, when?" _Amita asked._  
"This morning, she was released from the hospital and her boyfriend took her to his hotel."  
"Well at least you found her alive." _Larry said. _  
"Yeah, with a rifle pointed straight at us when we entered, like she was expecting someone else, which is why she wasn't charged with anything yet." _Don said coming up with David. _  
"Yeah, well we may have given her back to him prematurely. We just found this. Looks like she was typing it when we pulled up. And she may have had a reason to have run from Mr. Evanson in the first place."  
"Oh, yeah, what was it?" _Don asked. _  
"Listen to this: _I thought I knew him when we first met, but I guess I was wrong. He got violent after only a month._ It sounds like she was running from Mr. Evanson."  
"How can you tell?" _Amita asked._  
"She says that he threatened to take her daughter from her if she pressed charges and that she has her daughter hidden with a friend that he does not know about. Sounds like she was planning on getting settled first and then heading back for her daughter. I think we need to go visit Mr. Evanson and Ms. Endelman and get this all sorted out."  
"My train of thought as well. Okay, we leave in five minutes, grab your gear, this may have to be a forced entry into the suite, if he's there at all. Charlie, Larry, Amita, we'll see you soon, but you might want to head over to the hospital if necessary. Ms. Endelman is going to need some support, yet it be from Amita, if necessary."  
"Will do Don, and be careful."  
"We always are Charlie!"


	2. In The Safety of The Epps

This chapter will be in first person and third person.**  
In The Safety of the Epps:**

**Hotel Room:  
(AN-Will be in bold for what is about to happen and **_**Sunset's thoughts**_**)**

**Sunset lay in an unconscious pile on the floor next to the bed. She had lost feeling in her right leg nearly an hour ago. Nobody had done anything for her and she was afraid that Chris had gone back to Nevada looking for Tegan, who wouldn't be much safe if he looked even harder than he had been. She felt her breath leaving her and realized that she was slowly losing the will to live. She couldn't move let alone reach for the phone. She was, at the moment, totally helpless to another attack from Chris. She heard voices on the other side of the hotel room door and wished with all her might that someone was finally coming to save her, yet again…**

_I felt myself lose complete control of my conscious self and knew that my mind and body was done fighting for the moment. I did not hear the door being opened or the FBI agents searching the hotel room, looking for any sign of life, looking for me. I did not hear anything until I woke up in the hospital…_

**Meanwhile…**

"Don, I've got her, but she has a low pulse. We got to get her to a hospital now!" _David said. _  
"Paramedics aren't going to be here for another fifteen minutes, they got stuck in traffic, and we're going to have to take her ourselves. Pick her up Colby and let's get her out of here."_ Don said.  
_"Yes sir. What are we going to do about hiding her injuries from the other guests? I really don't think that they'll want to see what that guy has done to her."  
"Good point, alright, here, wrap this blanket around her. I don't think the staff members care if they lose one blanket."  
"Alright let's go, we don't have much time. Megan, call Charlie and tell them to meet us at the hospital."  
"I'm on it."

They headed for the hospital with me in Colby's arms and a hotel blanket wrapped around me. The staff at the hotel said nothing, knowing that one blanket wouldn't harm them, especially if there was someone hurt wrapped in it. Besides it was the FBI, they really couldn't do anything. Colby got into the back of the SUV with Don and Megan. David drove the other one and they headed to the hospital.

Once at the hospital, I was rushed to the ER and then into surgery where I would be for the next three hours. When the surgeon came out and said that I would recover, a sigh of relief went through everyone. Asking if they could see me, they were let into my room. I had just woken up and they were keeping an eye on my vitals.

**Hospital: The Team Talks To Sunset:  
**"Mrs. Endelman, are you up to talking to us?" _Don asked._  
"Why? You're the ones that gave me back to him? Why should I talk to you?"  
"Because we can put this guy behind bars. Do you by any chance know where he is headed?" _Colby asked._  
"Back to Nevada. My daughter is in the foothills in the next county over from Carson City. My friend Josephine is taking care of her. He's headed to find her. You have to protect her, as well as Josephine, her boss James and his wife Heather. They kept a secret they knew nothing about because they knew what he was capable of."  
"Why didn't you run with your daughter?" _Megan asked. _  
"Because if and when he caught up with me, he wouldn't have to find her, he would be able to kill us both without any witnesses. It was easier to leave her with Josephine and run myself. Tegan knew what she had to do. I need to get back to her before he does. I promised her I would come back for her."  
"Alright, but you let us go after him. You're going to be in the hospital for awhile and I know your daughter wouldn't want you to be in any more pain then you are now." _Amita said._  
"Why are you helping me?"  
"Because, we did this, we gave you back to him, and we have to fix it. If it means moving you into my house, then that's what we'll do, but we are not going to let him hurt you again." _Charlie said._  
"You know he's a cop right? He'll win, he always does. His boss and the other cops in Carson City believe him over me, even though they have known me longer. He came from Oklahoma City and seemed to fit right in. I was working at the local law office when I met him, and he seemed nice at first."  
"We know we saw your journal entry; the one you wrote just before we busted into your room."_ David said._  
"Will I get all my stuff back?"  
"You'll get what isn't important, but the laptop will have to stay in our custody." _Don said._  
"No, I can print out what you need and sign it for you. But I need the laptop; I promised Tegan that I would keep a constant record of what happened. She's been dieing to write a book about her life, what she's gone through and what her parents have gone through. We have the first part, about her father already typed up and everything. We've been working hard on it since she entered high school, what between the cheerleading practice, choir rehearsal and swim practice, it gets kind of complicated to write the book, but we are doing our best."  
"Well, then we'll will just have to get you printer to attach to your laptop and let you print your stuff out. We'll let you rest for now. And one of us will be with you for now while you are in the hospital at all times. Starting with me," _Amita said sitting down and taking out her laptop and some files. I smiled knowing these people were probably a family more like Josephine and me then me and Chris._  
"Thank you. This means a lot to me. And thank you for taking the case. I'm not sure if he's done this before but it always seemed that he'd left someone behind in Oklahoma when he left."  
"You're welcome, we'll get you that printer and your laptop, get some rest." _Megan said as everyone but Amita walked out. _  
"Thank you."

**Sunset's Hospital Room:  
**"Amita, the way you look at Charlie makes me sense that there is a connection between the two of you."  
"You can sense that huh?"  
"I'm good at sensing what people are feeling. Chris attracted himself to me by being around me when I hung out with my friends in the department. But all that changed when we started to date. People I'd known for years seemed to want nothing to do with me once Chris started spreading the lies. I even got fired because of his lies. And due to being fired, he forbid me to do anything but take care of Tegan. I didn't mind that part, I was able to spend a lot of time with my daughter and it felt right. But the most shocking blow came the on the day of her father's death. We were at the cemetery when he came in and pulled us out, saying that we weren't allowed to come here anymore. He said people saw us come here and believed me still in love with my dead husband. He said it embarrassed him and he hated being embarrassed. That night, while Tegan was at a friend's house, I paid for it."  
"You know, if you had come up about the abuse in the first place, when you first here before he was able to see you, you might not have had to go back with him."  
"He would have found a way around you and gotten to me somehow. He's good at getting his way and knowing exactly where to hit so there are no bruises to be seen by anyone on the outside. I was scared. He told me that he would take Tegan from me and that I would never be able to see her, that he would put me in jail before he was thrown their himself."  
"I'm sorry you had to go through that. Hey, on the Brightside, we will be seeing a lot of each other. Maybe you can show me what you and your daughter were working on before you had to leave."  
"That sounds great. She was wanting to go to the regional's here in LA with her squad, but due to the circumstances, she hasn't been able to practice with her squad. Her swim team went to regionals last week and I know she wanted to go to that as well. But she promised me that she would stay in hiding with Josephine because she didn't want to lose me. I just wish that she could see herself from the outside instead of from the inside. I wish she could see herself as more than just my daughter, but more of the person I know she will become. I can't wait to see her again."  
"And you will, with Don, Charlie and the rest of the team working on this, you will see her and your friends again."  
"I wish you could have met my husband, he knew just what to say when everything was turned around."  
"I bet he did, get some rest, I'm not going anywhere."  
"Thank you again, Amita. You truly are a good friend."

**FBI Squad Room:  
**Don, Charlie, and the team got to work on trying to find Chris the minute they got back to the office. Larry was also there to lend his thoughts and mind. With the help of the laptop, they were able to locate Tegan and Josephine and tell them that Sunset was alright. Everything seemed to be going smoothly so far. Tegan and Josephine were told to keep doing what they were doing and that an Agent would be sent to keep an eye on them while blending in with the surroundings. And the only way to blend in was to get a job at the bar that Josephine worked at. James and Josephine had it all set up for when the agent got to town.

With Charlie and Larry at the office and Amita at the hospital, they knew that the possibility of finding Mr. Evanson was good, not great, but good. Getting to the town before him was best and the agent was ready to leave within the hour of hearing the news. Megan was staying behind because she could relate to Sunset so Liz Warner was going instead. She would be acting as a waitress at the bar that Josephine worked at and James owned. She could also keep an eye on Tegan who got her homeschooling done in the bar's employee lounge. Now all they had to done was convince their father that keeping Sunset at the house was the best way to keep her safe.

**Epps Household:  
**Don, Charlie, Larry, Amita and I sat at the dining room table eating dinner. Well, everyone else was eating; I was just pushing my food around on my plate. Everyone noticed that I really hadn't eaten so Don and Charlie spoke up.

"So, Sunset…" _Don started. _  
"Call me Grace. No one really ever called me Sunset. My mom named me that because she loved having sex at sunset. Hooker, everyone always said it would run in the family."  
"Okay, Grace, we hooked up the printer in the guest room with your laptop…" _Don started again. _  
"Not my laptop, it's Josephine's; she let me borrow it while I was staying with her before I fled the state. She said she'd buy a new one for herself but I told her she'd get it back when she was done. We both basically listened to the same music all I've done is download a little more from Limewire, paid for of course, and put a few songs on CD's…and I'm sorry, you were saying?"  
"Talkative now that you're out of harm's way for the moment are we?" _Alan asked. _  
"Always talkative, never allowed to talk as much as I have been; a lot of stuff wasn't allowed."  
"Well anyways, its set up so u can print off what we need for a case against him and sign it. Then you can get back to whatever part of your book you were on."  
"Thank Agent Epps."  
"It's Don, you can call me Don."  
"Thanks. Um, so what did you all do when you were growing up? I grew up in Las Vegas with a dead beat mom and a grandma who didn't have the heart to take me from my mom but could keep me alive, the rich kind of grandma."  
"How rich?" _Larry asked. _  
"Larry, that's not nice. I'm sorry; Larry has a tendency to go…."  
"It's okay Charlie; she has an estate south of Carson City. Josephine stays in it whenever she wants to. In fact it's where they are staying now. The estate is near a forest so it's very secluded. The house, albeit she was a little paranoid about it but wanted it to look rustic, is a three story cabin that has a built in alarm system that kicks anyone out that it doesn't recognize as, well, a friend or family member. Grandma always seemed to do everything she wanted. Grandma left the estate to me, and no, Chris does not know about it. If he did, he'd kill me and take everything I own. I don't use grandma's money if I can't. If I did, Chris would become suspicious and ask where I got it from and I really don't want to explain it to him."  
"Will you go back there once he's in prison?" _Amita asked. _  
"Maybe, or I might just rent it out and let people pay to stay in it. It's energy efficient as well. There are solar panels on the roof and they rotate to catch the sun. The refrigerator is powered by solar energy. The only outlets in the whole house are for the generator, air conditioning, panic room (paranoid grandmother), and some entertaining electronics. Never really did do an inventory when she died, Josephine keeps the place in running order. I'm sure that's where Agent Warner will be staying as well."  
"Very talkative; so what's with the panic room?" _Alan asked. _  
"Not really a panic room. My grandma filled it with weapons over the years, and whatever she deemed important for self-protection. Permits for all of them in the room as well, tied to the weapon of choice. That room has always remained locked and Tegan does not know the code to it. She never will."  
"So, what do you plan on doing once he is in jail? Where will you go? If your daughter has connections in Nevada, will she not miss her friends?" _Larry asked._  
"Yes, she will miss them and will miss seeing her so happy, but he is there, I don't want her to be anywhere near him. On the designated day we decide, we will go back to visit her father. He was a very honest person and knew when something was wrong with me. When I first found out I was pregnant with Tegan, he was always there for me, even though he wasn't her biological father."  
"Who's the biological father?" _Don asked. I just shrugged my shoulders._  
"I was fourteen when I became pregnant with Tegan. Mother had a habit of bringing her clients home with her. I don't know who he is, some John she brought home and passed out with. He woke up in the middle of the night and came into my room. That's the only time my mother believed me, and then she kicked me out saying that I was a disgrace to the family. My grandmother took me in and helped me take care of Tegan. She's the one that set me up in Carson City, trying to get me away from my mother. My life was complicated."  
"And still is by the looks of it. Why don't you go get some sleep and we'll see you in the morning. Amita can show you to your room." _Charlie said._  
"Thanks you, all of you. And I'm sorry I was a little harsh when you came to the hospital to see me. First reaction is always the harshest."  
"No problem, besides, we kind of deserved it."


End file.
